Nuke'em
by DracoPathos
Summary: When a high-risk expirement escapes it's cell, a little accident sucks Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles out of their own world and into the middle of the trouble. AU and my first Sonic fic up here. Please r&r.
1. Escape

****

Draco: Ooki…this is my first attempt at a StH fic since I was in 3rd grade or so. Please don't kill me if people are slightly out of character or anything.

^_^'

Nuke tapped boredly on the glass, neon green fur reflecting back at him. The white patch around his left eye made his gaze glow from behind the fluff of white-tipped green fur. His fox ears twitched, their white tips flashing, as he watched a fly buzz across his vision on the other side. It was impossible to hear it through the pane, but he somehow knew it was buzzing, even though he didn't remember ever hearing a fly buzz before. Actually, he wasn't even sure what buzzing sounded like, but it was buzzing none the less. He raised a white paw to play with the three glittering, gold rings in his left ear as his tail twitched behind him. Then he placed one paw on the glass, reeled the other back, and slammed his fist full force into the clear wall. Arm extended, knuckles bleeding, he listened to the tinkling of shards raining to the ground, and a grin spread across his snout. Now he could hear the buzzing.

* * *

*door opens, and footsteps echo, someone clears their throat*

Assistant: Excuse me sir.

*chair squeaks*

Doctor: Yes?

*silence*

Doctor: Yes? What is it?

Assistant: It escaped, sir.

Doctor: What?

Assistant: It…it escaped…sir…

Doctor: What do you mean 'it escaped'?

Assistant: It shattered the glass, sir, and escaped.

Doctor: Catch it.

Assistant: A crew is on it already, sir.

Doctor: Good.

Assistant: Um…sir?

Doctor: Yes?

Assistant: It…it stole weapons, sir.

Doctor: It what?

Assistant: It stole weapons.

Doctor: What weapons?

Assistant: There were atomic grenades and a nuclear launcher missing, sir.

*the chair squeaks again as someone stands*

Doctor: Find it, catch it, and kill it. Do you understand? Find it, catch it, and kill it immediately.

Assistant: Y-yes, sir. Right away, sir.

*footsteps, and the door closes*

* * *

Nuke sat back against the wall of the vent and rummaged through the things he had stolen. On the side of weaponry, there was a gun that was a little over half as long as he was tall, along with a pile of grenades. Other than that, he had grabbed a few things to make movement easier. He attached the gun and grenades to red shoulder strap, which he threw across his chest. Then he clamped an red, electronic gauntlet onto his left wrist and pulled a matching fingerless glove onto his right hand. After flexing his arms and hands to get used to the feel, he pulled on a pair of white socks and donned a pair of red sneakers. The shoes had gray, metal soles and metal strips over the toe and around the foot. Admiring them with a grin, he found himself wondering what they did. Somehow he knew that each set of sneakers in that room had to be made for something special. So he clicked his heels together on a whim and a jet board extended from the sole of his right foot. With another click, it retracted. Now this could be fun.

* * *

*running boots echo down the hall*

Speaker: All staff on alert! There has been a breech in Med Lab B! I repeat, there has been a breech in the Med Lab B! All staff must be on alert!

*running continues as the announcement is repeated*

* * *

Nuke snuck carefully through the shafts, the clang of his travels overshadowed by the hustle throughout the building. Something in his head turned his blind path into a goal-oriented wander, leading him round corner after corner over his pursuers. Finally, he found himself at a grating that lead to a room empty of workers. Without a second thought, he removed the bars and lowered himself from the ceiling. There were now glass boxes around him, much like the one he had just left shattered down the hall. A tapping drew his attention to the one, and he made his way around the tables to see what it might be. Inside, a little blue fox sat Indian-style on the ground, tapping at the glass. It was a female kit, younger and smaller than Nuke, with the same white-tipped ears and white paws, and on her chest was a little blue fluff. She was tapping rhythmically until Nuke tapped back, which caused her to turn her huge, green eyes up to him. Then he noticed the little yellow patch of fur on the outside of her right eye, shaped like a little star. That star was also on a plaque on the glass, along with the word "Atom."

* * *

*running boots are still echoing, along with shouts*

Speaker: All staff on maximum security! There has been a breech in Med Lab A! I repeat, there has been a breech in Med Lab ! All staff must be on maximum security!

*more shouts echo, boot tromp on*

* * *

Nuke lead little Atom through the ventilation system as people ran and shouted below. The girl had already worn a pair of sneakers, red with gray soles, which had allowed her to jump all the way up through the hole in the ceiling. He had been right, each and every pair of shoes did something special. His had a jet board, and hers had some sort of springs. So they wandered down twisting passages together, not sure where they were headed, until they reached another grating, beyond which lay a room lit by blue lights set in the walls. It was hard to see what exactly the room contained, and, at the urging of both Atom's curiosity and his own, Nuke decided to investigate. There seemed to be nothing there, save for an electronic ring set in one wall and what looked like a control panel set a few yards in front of it.

* * *

Speaker: All staff report to stations immediately! Tech Lab X has been breeched! I repeat, Tech Lab X has been breeched! All staff report to stations immediately!

* * *

Nuke examined the huge ring. It was made of the same gold as his earrings and encased in the same metal as his shoes. Electronics were carefully attached to it, reaching down to a platform at its base, from which cords ran in steel casings to the controls. Behind the green fox's back, little Atom stared in childish awe at the huge box on which the control panel was placed. Letting the wonder over take her, she bounced up onto the face of the panel and stared at the mass of computer screens, switches, levers, and glowing buttons.

Suddenly Nuke could hear the boots clomping along the corridor, and he dragged his attention from the glitter of the gold. They had to go. Unfortunately, Atom was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard her, clambering around atop the huge box of circuits. Like any little child would, she had begun playing with the equipment. With a click of his heels, Nuke released the jet board and flew up to her, but as he was about to carry her back to the vent, the ring began to glow. Frozen by a confused mix of amazement and fear, he watched as it slowly began to spin in its casing, going fast and faster until the motion was so fast that it became barely perceptible. In his arms, Atom giggled, then she pointed, jumping up and down, as the glow grew bright and brighter.

There was a blinding flash just as the soldiers crashed through the door, coming to a full halt at the sight of the shimmering in the room. Someone shouted something, and there was a chorus of human gasps, as the glittering air began to die away. Sprawled on the floor, looking slightly dazed, lay four creatures, the foremost of which appeared to be a very confused blue hedgehog.


	2. Company

****

Draco: Okay…well…I got a little bit of support here, including my usual support system. *huggles Scar* So I suppose I should continue.

Nuke: She says this as if she would stop just because no one was reviewing.

Draco: Shush. Anyway…here goes…

^_^

Nuke stared for a moment at the slightly shaken newcomers before pulling himself out of the amazement and into the real world. Awesome or not, this event had no effect on their current danger except maybe to increase it. This in mind, he grabbed Atom and dove for the floor where the four creatures were slowly standing. They stared at him in confusion until he pointed to the hole in the ceiling that led to the vents, which seemed to make them understand. It was dangerous here, and it was time to leave.

So, without a single thought as to how they would follow, Nuke clicked his heels and flew full speed into the system, zooming along the passageways with Atom clinging to his back. Moments later, the blue hedgehog was beside him and the others were close behind. Below them sounded shouts and storming boots, effectively drowning their own noise out. Now for where to go. He could always follow blind senses like he had before. The voices in his head seemed trustworthy enough. Then they were outside.

* * *

*door opens, boots click*

Assistant: They're both gone, sir.

*a fist is slammed down on a desk*

* * *

They stopped a ways into the trees, collapsing onto the ground in something close to a circle. Atom curled up into a ball, her head in Nuke's lap, as the other four stared at one another. Nuke knew he would need to explain all of this. Now if only he knew how.

"Who are you," the blue hedgehog sighed, "and where are we?"

Nuke stared at him for a moment, then answered. "My name's Nuke, this is Atom, and this is Earth Colony 8090. Who are you?"

The confusion seemed to grow, a hint of what seemed like panic sparking amongst the four strangers, before the blue one answered. "I'm Sonic."

"Tails," a little, two-tailed fox squeaked.

Following suite, a red echidna raised a hand. "Knuckles."

Then a black and red hedgehog spoke up. "Shadow" was the name he added to the list, watching Nuke with what appeared to be suspicion. At this point, the green fox expected that.

"How," Sonic broke into the falling silence, "did we get here?"

Almost relieved, Nuke shrugged. "I don't know. Atom was playing with the controls of some sort of machine and then you seemingly materialized from thin air."

"Atom wanted friends," a little voice suddenly piped in. "Atom got friends."

They all stared in disbelief at the little girl, her big, green eyes staring back at them. She curled up tight against Nuke's side, tucking herself under his arm. Was it possible that this tiny child could have actually done all of this on purpose? It was nearly impossible to believe such a thing could be true. Then again, Nuke thought, their very existence, hers and his own, were nearly impossible to believe if he weren't currently living it.

* * *

*there are clicks and taps like someone on a computer*

1: So what exactly happened? What did they do?

2: I'm not sure. It looks as if they somehow got this stupid old machine to work, but now it's dead again.

*more tapping and someone walking*

1: You mean whatever they did may have been a once in a lifetime possibility?

2: Exactly.

1: Damn.

2: Exactly. I can't even figure out how they did it. It should've been impossible to so much as start this thing. I mean…look…it's not even plugged in. How the hell did they get power for this thing when it's not even plugged in?

1: Damn.

*continued tapping*

* * *

Sonic broke the silence once again. "So, is there any way to get us back home?"

"How should I know?" Nuke shrugged. "I haven't got a clue as to how she got you here in the first place. Getting you back is a lost cause to me."

Knuckles sighed, leaning back against a tree. "Great. So we're stuck, is that it?"

"Maybe not," Tails put in quietly. "Maybe, if I could get back to that machine, I could figure it out, but it would mean getting back in there and having time to look everything over, not to mention the time it'd take to work with it."

Nuke shook his head. "You've gotta be kidding. Getting back to that room would be hard enough, but keeping the people out of it…that's just plain impossible." He stroked Atom's ear absently and the little girl slowly drifted off to sleep. "I mean…they'll have that place sealed up so tight the wind can't get through. I just got out. I'm not risking my life to get back in right away."

It was quiet then, no one knowing what to say or do next. They would get nowhere by turning this into a war between home and freedom, and Sonic's crew would just be wasting time in there without Nuke to guide them. So what was their next move? The question turned over and over in each of their individual minds as darkness gradually descended upon them. Then, without a word, Nuke collected little Atom into his arms and got to his feet, his tiny burden not so much as whimpering in response. Eyes followed him in a hush until it became apparent that he would say nothing unless someone else spoke first.

"Where are you going?" Sonic asked, standing as well.

Nuke hefted the blue kit, meeting his new companion's gaze. "I'm going to find somewhere safer to hide, somewhere they're less likely to accidentally come across us in our sleep. Not to mention somewhere with some sort of protection from the elements."

Then the green fox started on his way, wandering through the trees. He had no idea if they would follow, though part of him hoped they would. Leaving them out there alone in a world they were new to made him feel slightly guilty, but what they wanted of him was just too much. Of course, there was very little knowledge of this world in his own muddled brain, but he was sure that whatever lay ahead of him was better than what lay behind. Even if he were still alone it would be better out here. Alone, however, was not what he would be it seemed, for he had little Atom and four new companions following close behind.


End file.
